COURAGE

English III
Courage by Bienvenido N. Santos 
A story that portrays how easy it is to pass judgment about other people without first trying to understand them; while some find strength in their courage to endure all. 

The class of Section A did not like their new adviser, Mr. Arsenio L. Torres. He was quiet, distant and he never smiled. When he said that the students ‘looked intelligent but that remains to be proved' they took it as a challenge. Their excellent performance, however, went unacknowledged. Much the students did not understand about Mr. Torres. He had to be different from the more pleasant teachers. He knew his lessons by heart, mastered them yet he showed no passion. It was like reading a great story or reciting a lovely poem detachedly, lacking vivacity. He was ‘too impersonal, too aloof, like a proud god forced to walk among the mortals'. There were days that Mr. Torres was absent but the students never bothered to ask why. They even wished he would stay away a little longer. Unpopular as he was, no one noted any change in his appearance that was out of the ordinary. Section A was in-charge with the morning program. The theme was ‘Courage'. Mr. Torres decided a common song for the duet that was not about courage. He wanted them also to wear white because he liked white. They voiced their protests, which he ignored. The girls for the duet wanted another song. Mr. Torres relented but they would never forget his strange voice and the look on his face. For Mr. Torres' death came shockingly unexpected. Apparently, he had been sick but had kept it a secret. At the program, Section A's class president gave a speech. He spoke in a broken voice about how Mr. Torres was misunderstood and misjudged because of his seeming indifference and his inability to laugh or smile. Courage drove him to teach, to live each day through pain as if nothing was wrong. With courage, he chose to be ‘misunderstood rather than admit defeat'. If only they knew or made an effort to know... but it was painfully too late for regrets. The two girls sang Mr. Torres' song but they could not finish it. The students in white were quiet as they proceeded to their empty classroom. 

Source: http://www.shvoong.com/books/1693125-courage/#ixzz1TDLvxjky